What do Harvard, Princeton and Brown have that we don't? Forget about tougher admissions -- apparently we beat Brown by 0.1 percent. Nope, they've all got female presidents. And as the Board of Trustees continues its search for the next leader of the Big Green, it's time we set a new requirement: straight white men need not apply.
Hold your fire for another 600 words, infuriated '78 who laments the downfall of Western academia. You might realize I'm not so nuts after all.
Though once considered one of the fundamental tenets of political organizing, identity politics seems to be facing an intellectual backlash these days. Identity politics emphasizes the need for marginalized groups to assert and express their own experiences -- different from the mainstream -- in order to achieve true change. In other words, in order to fight oppression, the oppressed must be calling the shots.
When it comes to Dartmouth, this theory has powerful implications. Pick up an issue of The Dartmouth covering any campus controversy from the last 15 years and you're likely to find an Opinion page replete with accusations of institutionalized sexism, racism, classism or homophobia. It goes without saying that a lot of underrepresented groups feel mistreated here, whether it's by the Greek system, The Dartmouth Review or just the people they engage with on a daily basis.
A minority president could combat all that. As a representative of a marginalized group, a president who is female, gay, non-white or all of the above would have an inherent understanding of the struggles of women and minorities -- struggles that are often deeply psychological and difficult to articulate in objective terms. With this sort of understanding and empathy at the highest level of campus governance, real change could occur. Rather than try to placate frustrated students, a president who can actually connect with stories of oppression can foresee the type of institutional reforms needed to make Dartmouth a more inclusive place.
I'm not saying that a straight black male president will automatically know what's best for the gay community or for women -- nobody's personal experiences are the same, no matter what marginalized group (or groups) one belongs to. What I am saying is that a president who is intimately familiar with discrimination and hardship -- who was not born into a position of pure privilege -- would likely be more empathic and responsive to the needs of underrepresented students.
Of course, there are a number of other qualities that must be considered in choosing a president besides skin color, gender or sexual orientation. Of utmost importance are things like intellect, leadership, flexibility and dedication. Yet I fear that we have become too cautious of openly acknowledging the benefits of choosing a qualified minority over a non-minority leader. We worry that doing so involves "reverse racism," entangling ourselves in some sort of unfair double standard.
Spenser Mestel '11 wrote in his column, "Most Diverse Class Ever?" (Apr. 21), that variation in intellectual and political opinions is a more genuine form of diversity than "the skin-deep indicator of race." Just because race may be biologically irrelevant, however, does not change the fact that different racial groups have had different cultural experiences in our society -- experiences which are paramount to the shaping of their intellectual identity.
Thus, the assumption that fairness requires colorblindness is false. The Board of Trustees is not casting for "Grey's Anatomy" -- it's looking for a leader to move Dartmouth forward. And that leader needs to have a personal understanding of the prejudice and patriarchy that are at the heart of all of the problems with campus social life.
I do not intend to discredit the work of President Wright or any of the other well-intentioned straight, white male leaders on this campus. In fact, I think we owe a lot of thanks to these men, who have made great strides towards inclusivity at Dartmouth. But at this critical juncture, shortly after the 25th anniversary of coeducation at Dartmouth, we can afford to challenge the status quo a little more. After all, if we're going to honor Liberia for doing so at this year's Commencement, why not follow suit?
